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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24390364">Stop Worrying</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mytinyrosestay/pseuds/mytinyrosestay'>mytinyrosestay</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, Hongjoong is working too hard, How Do I Tag, Light Angst, M/M, Maddox - Freeform, Minor Choi Jongho/Kang Yeosang, Seongjoong Week 2020, Sickfic, seonghwa is worried</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:49:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,301</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24390364</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mytinyrosestay/pseuds/mytinyrosestay</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hongjoong was annoyed by the members' words. They were all worried about his health. Hongjoong was annoyed because they don't have to worry about Hongjoong, since they had already had many things to concern in their hands. Hongjoong believed he could handle this.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Choi Jongho/Kang Yeosang, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>122</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Seongjoong Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stop Worrying</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
Hongjoong was not tired. He was not. He was annoyed.</p><p>The members claimed how his baggy eyes and his pale face for <em>days </em>and it tired him up. He was not tired at all. He was just not using as much skincare products as he used to. That's it, nothing else.</p><p>On the day that San pointed out how chapped his lips were—what day was that? Monday? Saturday? Or was it last week?—Hongjoong forgot to bring his lip balm to the practice, and nothing else.</p><p>He was not "working too hard" or "tiring himself to death" as Jongho claimed. He was not "pushing himself too hard" as Wooyoung said.</p><p>He was not.</p><p>He was just starting to build a foundation for them to be able to <em>survive.</em> Wooyoung, Yunho, and San worked for their dance. Jongho, Seonghwa, and Yeosang worked for their vocals. Mingi had also started to work on their music. Everyone was playing their part and so did Hongjoong.</p><p>He wouldn't say that he worked "too much" for the team as what Mingi once said, he was just <em>playing his part</em>. As a rapper and producer for <em>his </em>team. And also as their leader.</p><p>He <em>is</em> their leader.</p><p>He <em>is </em>the one who holds the map to succeed.</p><p>So it's <em>his</em> job to make sure the map was accurate and the road ahead of them was safe to pass. Even if it wasn't, it was <em>his</em> job to make sure they were prepared to face whatever obstacles ahead.</p><p>Mingi worked hard sharpening his rapping skills; Wooyoung, San, and Yunho spent the whole day training with the dance teacher to make sure that they can teach the other members during their free time; Jongho, Seonghwa, and Yeosang had been consulting with their vocal teachers about which part of the song matches their voices more.</p><p>Everyone was working hard.</p><p>So there was no excuse for the members to worry about him. He was just working as hard as the others.</p><p>And it annoyed him because the members were focusing on <em>him</em> instead of <em>themselves</em>. The little free time everyone had was spent just to worry about <em>Hongjoong</em> instead of making sure they had been eating well or keeping their hydration regulated.</p><p>But what annoyed him the most was Seonghwa.</p><p>He kept on waiting for Hongjoong either by lingering around the hallways or talking with Maddox about songwriting. He was always there, around the studios instead of going back to the dorm.</p><p>And he was always there knocking on Hongjoong's door around the night (or midnight?) reminding him to come home since the manager was also going home.</p><p>At first, Hongjoong was sure that Seonghwa was just learning more about songwriting. But the look on his eyes when he delivered the bento box for Hongjoong was saying something else. The same pair of eyes that Yeosang would use when he asked Hongjoong whether or not he had been eating well.</p><p>Seonghwa was worried about Hongjoong.</p><p>"Hey," the voice broke the silent night. Hongjoong felt Seonghwa moved and as the sheets underneath them shifted. "What are you thinking?"</p><p>"Nothing," Hongjoong lied because he had too. Seonghwa needed to stop to worry about Hongjoong. Seonghwa needed to stay focus on his health, the tragedy during the summer last year was something he didn't want to see again.</p><p>
  <em>Seonghwa fell to the ground as he clenched the lower side of his abdomen with his eyes shut tightly as if he was avoiding the pain—</em>
</p><p>"You are good at everything except for lying, Hongjoong," Seonghwa confessed as he laid on his side to face Hongjoong that was staring at the dark walls of their shared room. Hongjoong just hummed at the fact.</p><p>"Talk to me, Hongjoong," Seonghwa calmly said as he touched Hongjoong's shoulders and slowly pulling Hongjoong to face him.</p><p>Even in the darkness, Hongjoong could see the worry on his boyfriend's face. Hongjoong sighed and let the quiet night scream in his ears.</p><p>"Why did you spend more time on the studio for the past couple of weeks?" Hongjoong asked lowly, eyes staring at the stars in Seonghwa's eyes.</p><p>"I have told you I wanted to learn about songwriting, haven't I?" Seonghwa answered as he closed the minuscule gap between them, pulling Hongjoong closer to his chest.</p><p>"Yeah, you did. There's another reason for that, am I right?" Hongjoong asked, not accused, even though it sounded like it.</p><p>"What? Knowing more about Maddox-hyung?" Seonghwa asked back and Hongjoong knew Seonghwa tried to avoid where the conversation was going.</p><p>"Seonghwa," Hongjoong warned.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Tell me the truth,"</p><p>A quick pause passed by and then Seonghwa answered him. "Hongjoong, if I wasn't there, you are not going to go home. You spend too-"</p><p>"I was working-"</p><p>"But not effectively. I know you know that, Hongjoong. Do you think a dozen shots of espresso wouldn't change the way your magnificent brain works?"</p><p>Hongjoong stopped for a while, either the espresso inside him squared up to prove Seonghwa's point or his brain paid revenge for him for the lack of affection.</p><p>"Exactly," Seonghwa said as he pulled Hongjoong closer.</p><p>"Sleep, Hongjoong. It's a free day tomorrow, we can wake without Jongho's alarm screaming on our ears,"</p><p>And Hongjoong decided that Seonghwa was <em>far</em> warmer than he usually was after the hours he spent on the studio earlier.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Seonghwa was going to kill Jongho.</p><p>It was the team's free day today and that kid still put his alarm on. The sound that Seonghwa hated the most was screaming in his ears no matter how many feet apart their rooms were.</p><p>It was a little bit weird because Yeosang was the alarm-whisperer when it comes to Jongho's obnoxious alarm. Yeosang was the alarm-bender of the team. But why was it still shrieking in the day?</p><p>Seonghwa lazily opened his eyes at the ringtone and that was when he realized Hongjoong was dangling his right foot on Seonghwa's.</p><p>The sunlight that was peeking from the outside was already bright, maybe it's seven am now, and it highlighted Hongjoong's face. It was still as mesmerizing as Seonghwa remembered, but it was <em>dull</em>. Not in a bad way, but rather in a sadder way.</p><p>Hongjoong had been dismissing the members' worry far too long. He needed to stop and rest. He was hurting himself by drinking espresso instead of mineral water and eating chocolate bars instead of <em>real </em>food.</p><p>Seonghwa slowly pried the leg away because the alarm decided to be a bitch today by not stopping even for a minute and he needed that to stop destroying their not-even-stared-free-day.</p><p>Seonghwa walked to Jongho's room and dear gods, please bless his eardrums for the excessively loud alarm.</p><p>He opened the door and was about to snap at Jongho—</p><p class="">Of course Yeosang didn't turn the alarm off. Jongho and Yeosang were sleeping in each other's arms soundly and peace was drawn in their faces. It amazed Seonghwa about how unbothered they were by the aggravating sound of the alarm.</p><p class="">Seonghwa turned the alarm off and close their door as slow as possible, and then he walked back to his room. When he was back, Hongjoong's body rotated ninety degrees, his head was sleeping at Seonghwa's side of the bed as if he was looking for him in his sleep.</p><p class="">Seonghwa closed their doors and slowly walked to the bed. He smiled at how relaxed Hongjoong's face. Wait, roses were blooming in his cheeks. Seonghwa looked closer because Hongjoong's face was always pearly white and majestic, the rusty roses shouldn't be there.</p><p class="">Seonghwa laid his hands on Hongjoong's forehead and his fear came true. Hongjoong had a fever.</p><p class="">Seonghwa slowly maneuvered Hongjoong's body to lay horizontally against the bed, pulling the bedsheets up to his neck, and then laying beside him again. Seonghwa stared at Hongjoong for a while and realizing how his raggy his breaths were.</p><p class="">Seonghwa had a lot to do during this free day.</p><p class=""> </p><p class="">***</p><p class=""> </p><p class="">Hongjoong remembered when San complained about how hot their dorm was, but he always shrugged at the regular whine. He never felt too hot in the dorm.</p><p class="">Until today.</p><p class="">It was annoyingly hot for him. He felt the air in his room was suffocating, he felt his inside was slowly burning. Was the dorm on fire? He needed to wake-</p><p class="">But why the fuck did his head spun?</p><p class="">"Hey, hey. What do you need?" Hongjoong heard Seonghwa's voice <em>calmly</em> asked him. How did he talk calmly when the goddamn dorm was on fire-</p><p class="">"Hongjoong?" Seonghwa called him again, this time his voice sounded a little bit stressed.</p><p class="">Hongjooong opened his eyes, why did it hard to open his eyes, and slowly focusing his sight to Seonghwa's face that was beside him.</p><p class="">"How are you feeling? Do you want to eat? I made a soup for you, I could re-heat it now if you-"</p><p class="">"I-" Why was his throat felt sore? "I just-What happened?" Hongjoong asked slowly, feeling the back of his throat roaring on fire.</p><p class="">"You are sick, Hongjoong. You were burning up when I woke up this morning. How are you feeling now?" Seonghwa asked as he brushed Hongjoong's bangs backward.</p><p class="">That felt nice.</p><p class="">"I-I don't know. It feels hot in here. How long had I been sleeping?" Hongjoong asked as he followed Seonghwa's hand.</p><p class="">"Pretty long. It's relative. It's noon now if you want to know," Seonghwa said as he brushed Hongjoong's hair again.</p><p class="">Hongjoong snapped at the answer. He needed to see Eden-hyung—</p><p class="">"Hey, what are you doing?" Seonghwa asked, surprised at the sudden move.</p><p class="">"I need to see Eden-hyung-" Hongjoong forced his throat to let the words escape.</p><p class="">"You are <em>sick, </em>Hongjoong. What are you doing?" Seonghwa slightly raised his voice, lifting his body from the bed as Hongjoong left the bed and walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth.</p><p class="">"It's just a simple fever, it'll heal once I eat," Hongjoong said as he opened the bathroom of their room.</p><p class="">"Only if you <em>remember</em> to eat," Seonghwa lowly answered, holding Hongjoong's steps.</p><p class="">"What was that supposed to mean?" Hongjoong looked at Seonghwa.</p><p class="">"You are going to neglect your body again, forcing it to work until it collapses right in front of you," Seonghwa said, this time it felt scary as his eyes darken. </p><p class="">Hongjoong stayed on his position, his breaths were uneven and he was not liking it. He wanted to sleep again, but he has to be <em>responsible</em> for his position. He needed to see Eden-</p><p class="">"It's going to be okay. A day of rest would not stop your progress, Hongjoong. Trust me," Seonghwa was already right next to him. </p><p class="">His eyes shone like thousands of stars melted into them and Hongjoong didn't realize how he had missed it. </p><p class="">Seonghwa pulled him into his embrace and surprisingly the warmth was different than the blazing hotness around him. This one felt relaxing and felt...</p><p class="">just like home. </p><p class="">"So, do you want to eat now?"</p><p class=""> </p><p class="">***</p><p class=""> </p><p class="">Hongjoong was clingy today. That was good. He ate well today too, two bowls of the soup Seonghwa made and a bowl of rice vanished in a second. Seonghwa called Eden-hyung about Hongjoong's conditions when he was taking a bath, not wanting Hongjoong to even think about the older and his works. </p><p class="">
  <em>"I've seen it coming. Don't let that boy ran too far from you, Seonghwa. Thank you for taking care of him,"</em>
</p><p class="">The members gifted Seonghwa a clean dorm and also a quiet day for this occasion of Hongjoong actually staying at the dorm, they decided to go to PC rooms and spent their time and energy there, leaving the oldest and his boyfriend the space they needed.</p><p class=""> Hongjoong laid on Seonghwa's shoulders as Seonghwa pulled him flushed and drew soothing circles on his back. He felt the heat vaporized slowly and he was proud that his soup was actually helping. </p><p class="">"Stop worrying about me," Hongjoong whispered as his breath puffed at Seonghwa's neck. "I'm getting better," </p><p class="">"Who says I was worried about you?" Seonghwa teased but not fully because he knew his mom's recipe won't betray him. </p><p>"You are not nagging at me anymore," Hongjoong confessed as his voice started to getting more hoarse. </p><p>"I was just letting you sleep. Stop worrying about me, Hongjoong," Seonghwa said as he kissed Hongjoong's head. </p><p>"Sleep, Hongjoong. We have the whole day," </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Seonghwa was right. </p><p>Hongjoong needed to stop worrying. </p><p>He was worried about the sustainability of their group in the wild industry, that's why he spent (now that he had learned to realize) hours in the studio. </p><p>He was worried that he'll waste the hard work of the members by not having a good song for their next comeback. </p><p>He was worried about Seonghwa fall sick (again) for taking care of the dorm, the members, and of course, Hongjoong himself, when the position of the vocalist was already heavy enough; that's why Hongjoong wanted to make sure to perfect his songwriting so that Seonghwa wouldn't have to spend his time learning it. </p><p>He was the one who was worried about everything.</p><p>And the members were worried about him, the part that Hongjoong needed to leave because it was not important to him.</p><p>But to the other members, it was far more important than anything else. They were his friends and family. It was not <em>worrying, </em>it was just <em>taking care of each other. </em></p><p>Hongjoong learned that this was how teams work. He had seven strong people beside him exactly for this reason, taking care of each other and make sure that all of them could stand in the podium for the daesang award they believed they could have. </p><p>Hongjoong realized that worrying is normal. Worry was the one who made all of them reached to this point, the point where not all rookies can make it here. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i wanted to participate and i hope this was decent enough :D<br/>happy seongjoong week!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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